Set your story during the night shift.

Posted in Dark on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 53 stories

“Doing the Night Shift” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #109

Every weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I do the night shift – from midnight to eight o’clock in the morning. It would perhaps be more accurate to say I do the graveyard shift. This is not of the scary Stephen King type with lots of rats and a big voracious creature. I am working in an actual graveyard. There’s not much real work to it, patrolling the grounds, cutting the lawn with a motorless push mower sometimes, digging a grave very occasionally if someone is being buried on a Saturday or Sunday, pretending that I am t...

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“Dave and the Monster” by Clyde Laffan

Submitted to Contest #109

For optimum health and well-being, scientists agreed, after much discussion and a little trial and error, that the Monster should be fed nine pounds of meat every two hours. Many years ago, studies revealed the Monster to be a strict carnivore with a high metabolic rate and small stomach. Many terrestrial animals share similar traits. Take vultures, for example. They, too, are carnivores with fast metabolisms and tiny stomachs. However, birds of prey consume meat in various guises of decay, from roadkill to a maggot-infested carca...

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“The Johns, The Car and The Coke” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #109

Casey had learnt to take Benzodiazepines before the night’s work and painkillers when she was done, finish a cigarette between rounds and leave her necklaces at home. The johns – the clients – could get dangerous; they never stole, but when they were red hot, they’d grab hold of anything to choke you and watch you turn a shade darker. Most of the clients were lonely. Some were into different things that they couldn’t get away with doing to their wives or girlfriends. A client once asked Case...

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“Night Shift” by L Mack

Submitted to Contest #109

‘Ricardo! Double scotch.’Richard waited for his face to neutralize before turning round.‘No problem, Mr Collins.’‘Good guy.’He poured the drink carefully and passed it over. Collins took a long, theatrical sip and slammed the glass down. He loosened his tie and settled into the bar stool with a sigh.‘It’ll go on my tab, right?’‘As usual, Mr Collins.’ As least it was somebody else’s problem to make sure he paid the tab.Did nobody else need a drink at 3am? The lobby was lifeless except for the security guard and the night receptionist, who wer...

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“The baker” by Vanessa Marczan

Submitted to Contest #109

The last trains emptied the city of daytrippers and office dwellers as Chris unlocked the door. The cafe was tucked in an alleyway between towers of glass and steel. He walked into the gloom, past stacked chairs, tables, the counter, the coffee machine - an engine all shiny and fawned over. He squeezed into the kitchen, the heart, deeper to the womb. Clad in his apron, hands washed, Chris gathered bowls, flour, butter, eggs, water, rolling pin. The oven growled to life greeting the long night. Like a warlock, he performed the ritua...

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“Nightshift in the garden of Eden” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #109

Most days I´m an early riser. I wake up earlier than everybody else. If the sun is out, I will just lay in bed a little longer, gazing at those rays of light. It was different over there. The night shift starts after the sun has set. Still, I woke up early, staring at the changing colors of the ceiling, from terra cotta to absolute dark. I wake earlier than everybody else, but I´m not a good riser. I always have a hard time making myself leave the bed, and yet, I´m too restless to just keep laying there. The tip of my nose is always cold whe...

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“Keep The Change ” by R.S. Louvierre

Submitted to Contest #109

“Hello”, he greeted the customer as they walked in. The customer was a gorgeous woman with tan skin and auburn hair. Adam, as printed in black, bold letters on his nametag, could not help but watch as she walked towards the Pepsi cooler door. She was wearing tightly pressed blue jeans, a blue collar shirt that hugged her bosom, and a pair of all gray Vans on her feet. It was 9:30 in the evening, and his shift at the local gas station was already dragging on. The usual rush hour crowd had dispersed hours earlier, the side work had been...

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“5 Yen Coin” by Jihan Qanita

Submitted to Contest #109

It was 10 o'clock in the evening. The night sky was moonless with the clouds covering the stars. In a quiet neighborhood, stood the only place emitting lights from its inside. A 24-hour convenience store. Behind the counter, a young man played with his phone by himself. His name was displayed on the plate by his chest, but people usually just called him Shin. He was a college student. Today was the first day he officially worked part-time for this convenience store. He was short on money because of his hobby and just at that time, he saw...

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“The Graveyard Shift” by Veronika Jordan

Submitted to Contest #109

It’s not every day you stumble across a dead body. Actually, in my case it’s probably about once a week, but then I’m a vampire hunter so it’s my job. In this case, I literally stumbled across her. Tripped over her in the park where he’d left her and fell flat on my face. I say he because they usually are - the vampires not the victims. She was so pale with no visible injuries apart from the tell-tale two red marks on her neck. I knew what I had to do next. Find the killer before he found his next victim. In legend, the...

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“Sweeping lights to Soggy rocks” by J .

Submitted to Contest #109

Long blasts of boat horns lauded the quest of numbing winds leaving the calm lands for restless seas. Star-studded horizons and wavering waters had already merged together in the face of stark darkness. Foaming waves continued its relentless crashing on to the gritty shores. Tommy shrugged and rubbed his palms together as he hurried along a road past the main gates of National Coast Guard buildings, towards the armory counter. Large beams of light shooting from the eye of the lighthouse, skipping and sweeping the waters was a thing to watch....

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“The Graveyard Shift” by Lucia Faulkner

Submitted to Contest #109

When I’d found the ad for this job in the newspaper it seemed like a miracle. I’d been out of work for a few months, and was becoming somewhat desperate as my already meager savings ran lower and lower. The job was for the night shift at a local cemetery and paid well above what it seemed to merit. I’ve never been particularly bothered by the dark, though the cemetery did add a level of creepiness, but I figured that at this point it was better than nothing. I met with the groundskeeper the next morning. He was an older gentleman, L...

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“Braiding Bonds” by Ben Connolly

Submitted to Contest #109

The sky is patchy with sparse, moonlit clouds. The pavement, wet from showers earlier in the day, glistens with the reflections of orange lamps and the locks on bay doors shining either red or green. At two in the morning on a weeknight, most of the city is dormant; but on the outskirts, far from any residential grids or common businesses, the warehouse yards are alight and churning out their goods like machines. Not every warehouse is required by its company’s customer demand to run through the night, but Henry’s does; and if it’s meant to ...

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“Night Shift Reflections” by Lynn Matchett

Submitted to Contest #109

Stillness. I have always felt this was my sixth sense. The world is a loud open space. Spaces filled with people talking and eating, driving and honking. Spaces filled with dogs barking, fans cheering and radios blasting. The everyday life of a normal person is cluttered with constant noise starting with the wake-up alarm and then onto the daily news. News on the television, news on the phone and news on the car radio on the way to work. While the majority of the world may crave a fast, noisy chaotic life, I embrace and seek o...

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“The Night Shift” by Nessa Mari

Submitted to Contest #109

They ran as fast as their feet would carry them. Their breathing was loud, hard, and heavy. There had been seven in the group, but there were only five of them now. Alex was the youngest and one of the newest. His sweaty palms gripped a ripped pack he had fastened across his chest. He clutched at it tightly; there was telling how long they would be down here and if he lost his pack, he would have no supplies to keep him going until he reached the surface. If he reached the surface, he thought to himself. A loud wail echoed thro...

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“Amaline” by Victoria The Pirate

Submitted to Contest #109

I walked in to begin my night shift, peaceful.Outside, Garry, the place’s cat, was waiting for me. He started meowing happily when he saw me. Small moments like these reminded me of Bella. How she would always smile at the nice twinklings of life. I guess I was the only one who cared about Garry here. The others wanted him to get away, but he had already adopted the place. He knew he should stay outside, though.My reflection on the glass door was looking at me. I looked calm, but I knew that it can dramatically and quickly change. ...

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Set your story during the night shift.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 53 stories

“Doing the Night Shift” by John Steckley

“Dave and the Monster” by Clyde Laffan

“The Johns, The Car and The Coke” by Coltrane Rogers

“Night Shift” by L Mack

“The baker” by Vanessa Marczan

“Nightshift in the garden of Eden” by F.O. Morier

“Keep The Change ” by R.S. Louvierre

“5 Yen Coin” by Jihan Qanita

“The Graveyard Shift” by Veronika Jordan

“Sweeping lights to Soggy rocks” by J .

“The Graveyard Shift” by Lucia Faulkner

“Braiding Bonds” by Ben Connolly

“Night Shift Reflections” by Lynn Matchett

“The Night Shift” by Nessa Mari

“Amaline” by Victoria The Pirate

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who has landed their dream job, only to discover it isn’t quite what they imagined it to be.

Start your story with a character quitting their job, or getting fired.

Write about a character who leads a secret double life outside of their day job.

Your character sits down at their desk on a Monday morning and finds a completely unexpected email in their inbox. Write about what happens next.

Contest #109

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

162

Contest entries

149

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: